A Year of Blogging -Time to Celebrate!

I can’t believe that it has been two whole years since I’ve been blogging in this wonderful space that I’ve grown to love! I seriously think of MexiMoments as that favorite spot in the house that you like to hang out at, where you feel cozy, comfortable and at ease! I wasn’t sure what I wanted this venture to turn into when I started blogging in July 2015, actually for the first year I would just casually write about things that I did or thought were interesting whenever I felt like it. I doubt anyone would read those posts because I would only share it on my personal Facebook page with my 500 friends… and I doubt they even saw it!!! HAHA!

In July 2016 I turned my word-press site in to a self hosted site and MexiMoments was born again. That’s when I really started putting some goals out there! So I’ll share what has been my drive and has worked best for me, but just know that what works for one will not work for others, I’ve had to make tweaks along the way that worked best for my brand so just remember it’s a learning process! Down below I’ll share some of the courses that I think are well worth the investment! But let’s talk about the fun stuff first!

I really had a hard time putting into words how proud I am of this space, people I never met have wrote me and told me that they feel happy, inspired and empowered when they visit my page! When I started this page I knew I wanted it to be something that is very much apart of ME! One thing I know very well is my culture and mi gente, so I’m really proud that MexiMoments can be a place that shares moments in culture, cooking. style and beauty with everyone! So here my more favorite moments this past year!

My Favorite Moments!

My First Moment that really made me want to “Squuuuuueeee” was attending the MAC Selena World Premiere in Corpus Christi Texas! You can read the My Selena Experience Full Circle but it was clearly a moment that I will never forget. Just being there with thousands of her fans, friends and family was truly an experience that I will always treasure! Oh and this was also the first time I did a sponsored post, Slink Jeans clothing line sent outfits for us to wear and it was so exciting… all I did was ask and they said “Yes”

When I launched my blog I knew I wanted it to be empowering if anything else, and I started my Empowering Women segment! The idea was to reach out to women that have empowered me in some way throughout my life! I thought how great would be if even 1 person let me interview them and ask them questions about overcoming their trials and making it through. Well I started with reaching out to 5 ladies that I felt were empowering, some I knew, but most I never reached out to, I just knew their stories from following them on social media and reading them in on-line publications. Well… every single empowering woman that I reached out to that first time said “Yes” again all I did was ask.

Finding a good circle of people to support and be uplifting is key to making your blog a success. It can get draining and discouraging at times, so for me making sure I had the right people by my side was key. The We All Grow Latina network was definitely this for me. From connecting via emails, to listening to their motivational Facebook Live Forums and working on sponsored posts through their network of brands that look to work with Latina Bloggers was monumental in my blogs success thus far. Ana Flores the Founder of the We All Grow Latina Network has created a strong, uplifting and positive place for bloggers to grow! You can always count on the WAG Network to support and share for their fellow Latina’s. If you have not joined yet, you really really should!

The fun part of growing a blog is reaching out to brands and getting a response. I was so excited when Target started following me on Instagram and eventually featured my pic in one of my favorite Target brand shirts on their AwesomeShop site! Honestly you never know who is watching your social media pages, so tag them, credit them, tell them how much you love it!

Launching a podcast was never apart of the master plan, but like I said you have to make changes in order for your brand to grow. I can tell you that since starting the Girl Talk y Más Podcast with my co-host Elisa from Canela Vintage it really has taken off and created a following of it’s own. When I started the podcast I thought it would be a great way to share my Empowering Women segment but once Elisa and I connected and the ideas started to flow, it grew faster than I expected. We are now booked with interviews and content well into the fall! How FUN!

One thing I did not expect to happen in my first real year of blogging was host a T.V segment but it happened.. Twice! A producer from SALive KSAT 12 a local News station here in San Antonio reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in hosting a segment for Water Week. Even though I was terrified, I knew better than to say No, so I put together my first live T.V. segment and it went great. So great that they asked me to come back a few weeks later and share 3 easy to make kids recipes for back to school! You can see my Detox Water Recipes right here!

My most recent and completely humbling moments was my first feature!!! A really big shot out to Soy Texas for interviewing me and featuring my story in their online publication. I was really touched that Ingrid contacted me and wanted to connect. Soy Texas highlights so many wonderful people from across the state of Texas and it was a complete honor to be included! You can read my entire feature here!

The lessons I’ve learned did not come easy but I was able to learn so much through researching and some great online courses out there for bloggers to start out and create a growing and thriving platform. For Twitter knowledge I definitely suggest Saira from Mom’s Resource, she had the best Twitter course that is well worth it and you will use every bit of the information that you learn from her! For Pinterest growth and tips, you have to check out Melyssa Griffin her tips have helped me so much, and know I’m actually getting clicks to my blog from Pinterest! So Awesome!

I’ve been thankful enough to meet some very genuine and kind people throughout this year, but I have also crossed paths with people that were not so kind and that’s okay, there are also going to be those that are not as supportive as you may have thought and that’s okay too! You just have to keep moving forward and not let those people slow down your journey. I write because I love to write, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some amazing brands and have had a few sponsored posts which is awesome. But my biggest win has been the knowledge I’ve gained and experiences that I’ve had… They are priceless!

I’m super excited to be celebrating with a few of my closest blogging friends and favorite people at our Girls Night Out event host by myself, Pinot’s Palette Alamo Heights and Gino’s Deli. A huge big “Thank you” to all of my favorite brands for giving double prizes so that I can giveaway prizes locally and nationally! So be sure to enter on my Instagram and you can also enter below!

Blogging can be such a fulltime task, but it can be very rewarding, too ! Blogging is work ! Coming up with ideas, drafting and editing, taking pictures, scheduling, updating social media: it takes time. And energy. Congratulations 😉 and happy BLOG Birthday !